RE: Vehicle Naming Contest (NEW) Posted May 5
"Maverick" "Link" "Sniper" "Summon" "Cheater" "Mod" "Rifle" "Black" "Rosie" "Jinx" "Grunt" "Havok" "Vash" "Justice" "Peacemaker" "9" "HazMat" "Hazard"
Posted on: 5/10/2011 10:28 AM by Author "njm978" in the forum "Redcat Racing Support"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=10512062

RE: Pilots Man Your Computers: This is NO DRILL
169th in MN
Posted on: 2/24/2011 10:16 AM by Author "njm978" in the forum "The Clubhouse"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=10360530

RE: Triton 2 EQ Questions/Problem?
OK. I finally had some time to check into this further (tax season is upon us). The battery was reading 12.6v on the multimeter. This was consistant with what the charger stated, 4.19v per cell. I started the charge again and after about 5 minutes the charge was complete. Problem solved, I guess. I read into a review on another site. The reviewer there had the same problem. He contacted Electrifly and they stated the charger will keep charging, so long as the battery will allow it. For a 3S lipo, so long as the total voltage didn't exceed 12.6 by an alarming amount, everything is working normally. Mine was reading 12.61 when it ended the charge. Thanks for the input, I think all is well at this point.
Posted on: 2/11/2011 7:03 PM by Author "njm978" in the forum "Batteries & Chargers"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=10329531

RE: Triton 2 EQ Questions/Problem?
Thanks for the info. I made certain I had it set for lipo, 11.1v. I will check and see tonight if I can't figure out what the cell voltages are/where. Thanks again.
Posted on: 2/8/2011 12:31 PM by Author "njm978" in the forum "Batteries & Chargers"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=10321326

Triton 2 EQ Questions/Problem?
I ordered a Triton 2 EQ off the Scratch and Dent at Tower Hobbies and charged up a new lipo last week. I have a couple of questions for those who have had more experience with lipos/chargers than I have: 1 - How do you determine the safety timer setting on this charger for a lipo pack? The manual says you need the fast charge current setting to determine where the timer should cut off the charge. How do you determine the fast charge current setting for a lipo? I thought you weren't supposed to charge any faster than 1C? 2 - The manual states to set the mAh for lipos as close to the stated mAh on the battery without going over. The increments on the charger settings is 50 mAh. For a 640mAh battery, would it cause any problems to charge at 650mAh? 3 - As previously stated, I charged a new 11.1v 640mAh lipo last week. In keeping with what the manual said, I charged at 600mAh. I had the safety timer set at the default of 90 mins. Following the procedure in the manual to charge a lipo, everything looked to be functioning normally. After 90 mins the charger had only pumped in roughly 300mA. I started the charge again and it timed out again after pumping in about 200 or so mA. So, in keeping with the suggestions from the manual, I turned off the safety timer and let the charger go (at this point it was only charging at .1mA). Me being somewhat absent minded, left the house and forgot about the charger. (I had the battery in a lipo sack and the thermo probe on the battery) A few hours later when I returned the charger was STILL CHARGING at .1mA. It had pumped in another 300 or so mA (this is on top of the previous charges I had made). At that point I pulled the battery off the charger, assumoing it was fully charged (battery wasn't hot or deformed). I thought this charger would stop charging when the battery was fully charged? Did it behave this way because I didn't charge the whole battery in one shot? Why did it take soooooo long to charge a 640mAh battery? I know there is a lot of questions here (and a fair bit of ignorance on my part), but can anyone here give me some information? I hope Tower didn't sell me a defective charger, it was said to have worked fine. Any info would be greatly appreciated!!! Thanks.
Posted on: 2/8/2011 8:14 AM by Author "njm978" in the forum "Batteries & Chargers"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=10320798

RE: WWII Vet. Interview, Pictures, Jap Tank
I thought I would help the mood of a thread gone bad. Take a look at the following link to learn a little truth from WWII, told from one of my relation. Thank God for these men and women, past and present. http://www.usmhc.org/biographies/Alfred_Marcus.pdf
Posted on: 1/28/2011 11:41 AM by Author "njm978" in the forum "RC Tanks"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=10295749

RE: Lipo Charger Question
OK. Will charging a 640mAh battery at 800mAh cause damage to the battery, charger, or both? Would I be better off just buying 800mAh batteries? Please excuse my ignorance, but lipo's scare me.
Posted on: 1/6/2011 6:04 AM by Author "njm978" in the forum "Batteries & Chargers"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=10243306

Lipo Charger Question
OK, I'm new to electric flight, am trying to understand the ins and outs of lipos, and am trying to save some $$$. Please bear with me!! I need to purchase an 11.1v 640mAh lipo for my new foamy. I already own this charger - http://www3.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin/wti0001p?&I=LXVZZ3&P=ML It came with an rtf a few years ago. I realize that it states not to use this charger for anything under 1500 mAh, what will happen if I do? I can see the charger charges at 800mAh max, will it adjust to my 640mAh battery? Will this cause damage to the battery pack? These questions undoubtedly show my inexperience with electric flight, so I would appreciate any and all help that could be offered. Thanks.
Posted on: 1/5/2011 10:07 AM by Author "njm978" in the forum "Batteries & Chargers"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=10241349

Thunder AC6??
I just got my first electric plane (Electrifly Pluma) and I am looking at chargers. I have been reading up on the Thuder AC6 from hobbypartz.com here, http://www.hobbypartz.com/thac6smbachw.html . Question: Can anyone give me some insight as to the quality of this charger? I would like a smart charger so I can balance, cycle, charge multiple battery types, etc. The price on the AC6 scares me. Why is it so cheap? Why are similar chargers (ie, Triton EQ) so much more expensive? My natural assumption would be a quality issue, but I suppose it could be a marketing thing. Anyway, I would appreciate any input anyone could give with regards to the quality of the AC6. Thank you.
Posted on: 12/30/2010 7:30 PM by Author "njm978" in the forum "Batteries & Chargers"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=10228744

RE: Does the hobby really need to be cheaper?
Forgive me if I am stating the obvious or someone already eluded to this in a previous post: It's called market diversification. Model manufacturers are trying to reach as broad a demographic as possible by offering products that will meet the needs of as many hobbyists (and potential hobbyists) as possible. Lets use golf as an example. A newcommer to the game of golf is not going to spend $1500 on a set of high-end clubs because he isn't sure of the time commitment he wants to make, if he will even like the game, and as a newcommer wouldn't be able to realize the benefits a high-end club has to offer anyway. So, he goes and spends $250 at Wal-Mart for a set of Dunlops to get started. As he becomes proficient in the game and realizes he is spending a good amount of his free time at the links, he will be more apt to pay top dollar for a set of custom-fit top-of-the-line clubs. It is for the same reason that there is only one company that owns Bannana Republic, Gap, and Old Navy. 3 distict brands at 3 distict price ranges to sell to as many people as possible. Ultimately the sales from all 3 stores benefit the one company that is in ownership. Model companies are marketing their products to as many people as possible by offering price discounts at the expense of certain features and quality in order to reach "newbies" that just want to get a plane in the air, a boat in the water, or a car on the track with minimal expense. As long as there are experienced (or just plain picky) hobbyists creating a market for high quality equipment, there will be high-quality (and expensive) equipment available.
Posted on: 11/17/2010 1:08 PM by Author "njm978" in the forum "RC Car General Discussions"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=10141297

RE: Tower Hobbies .46 Muffler
On my muffler there is a phillips head bolt that goes through the front piece (no threads), the back piece threads on, then a nut is put on behind the back piece on the protruding threads from the bolt (I currently have this double nutted with locktite). I think I will go ahead with the threaded rod and double nut on each end. Is the red locktite the permanent type? I have been using the blue. Does it make that much difference?
Posted on: 10/11/2010 1:39 PM by Author "njm978" in the forum "Glow Engines"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=10061767

Tower Hobbies .46 Muffler
I have a .46 TH on my duraplane. Motor runs great except I can't keep the muffler together. Everything is tight on the ground and after a short time in the air the motor starts to sputter. After landing I can see that the expansion joints on the muffler are loose, I can turn the whole assembly with my hand. I also have a lot of dark, gritty exhaust residue on the wing I assume is from the alluminum parts of the muffler rubbing toghether. To clarify, the muffler is securely attached to the engine, no problems there. It is the thru bolt holding the 3 pieces of the muffler together I apparently can't get tight enough. I have tried rtv silicone in the joints, double nut on the end of the bolt, and locktight on everything with a thread. My next step, I think, is to bore out the thru bolt hole and use threaded rod with double nuts on both sides of the muffler. Does anyone have any input here? Would there be any issue with using JB Weld and fusing the whole expansion assembly together?
Posted on: 10/11/2010 8:45 AM by Author "njm978" in the forum "Glow Engines"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=10061188

RE: Trike Takeoff Trouble
Thanks for the input. Hopefully I will be able to work on this tonight, unfortunately I won't have time enough for flight test till next week. I will let you know how it turns out. Thanks again!!
Posted on: 7/1/2010 4:43 PM by Author "njm978" in the forum "Beginners"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=9838893

RE: Trike Takeoff Trouble
Wow, thanks for the info everybody! I failed to mention that I do already have the AOA set at a slight positive incidence. From what I am reading of other folk's experiences I will look into moving the main gear closer to the CG. I was thinking of putting a larger diameter prop on anyway, so I will try that as well. Thanks again.
Posted on: 6/30/2010 4:35 PM by Author "njm978" in the forum "Beginners"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=9836826

Trike Takeoff Trouble
I just put together a Duraplane Aerobat (this is my 3rd plane). I set it up as per the manual with the trike gear. Problem is that I can't get the thing off the ground. I maintain fairly good control during roll out, but it seems I can't get enough ground speed to generate lift. After a hand-launch I realized that power is not a problem, this thing is super fast! I am running a Tower Hobbies .46, Master Airscrew 10x7 wood prop, 15% Omega fuel. I also installed 2-1/2" Great Planes foam wheels on the mains and the nose. I am also running on a grass field (which was freshly mowed for maiden flight). Is the problem too much drag from the large wheels/grass? Not enough acceleration from the 10x7 prop? Perhaps conversion to tail-dragger would help? I have flown this plane only twice and I know it will be an absolute blast! It will be even better once I can takeoff under the plane's own power. Any and all input is greatly appreciated!!
Posted on: 6/30/2010 10:59 AM by Author "njm978" in the forum "Beginners"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=9836246

RE: Duraplane Servo/Motor Mounting (+misc. questions)
Thanks for the feedback.
Posted on: 6/7/2010 6:10 PM by Author "njm978" in the forum "Great Planes, TopFlite, Duraplane, US Aircore"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=9787962

Duraplane Servo/Motor Mounting (+misc. questions)
I am currently putting together a Duraplane Aerobat and have a couple questions. Any answers other than "throw the durabrick in the trash and buy a balsa" would be greatly appreciated 1. Does anyone have input on hard-mounting the servos directly to the airframe? I havn't been involved in the hobby that long but I do know that it is a good idea to save your radio equipment from the vibrations caused by the motor. I am going to install Futaba s3004 servos which hardly fit in the alluminum channel anyway, so there is no room (or means for) rubber grommets, foam rubber, etc. I hav'nt seen any negative comments directly about shortened servo life in the duraplanes, so it probably isn't a real big deal anyway. 2. Why is the front of the fusalage angled? When flying straight and level the motor will be at a slight downward angle, what is the purpose for this? What would happen if I cut the fuse so the motor mount fit straight in? 3. I noticed one of the ailerons is warped. Will this cause odd flight charactaristics / should it be replaced? 4. Has anyone had trouble with exhaust 'goop' infiltrating the fuse through the open back end? Any problems with the exposed servo on the top of the wing? 5. With the out-of-the-box set up there isn't really a firewall, just the motor mount. The mount is open in the back and into the fuse, does this present any problems? Thank you much!!
Posted on: 6/4/2010 11:34 AM by Author "njm978" in the forum "Great Planes, TopFlite, Duraplane, US Aircore"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=9780365